New Montverde boys basketball coach aims to keep Eagles in national hunt

Boyle has built a reputation at one of the nation's best high school basketball coaches

May 31, 2011|By Joe Williams, Orlando Sentinel

Kevin Boyle isn't the kind of coach who rolls up his sleeves when he jumps on the court and instructs his players.

Boyle, the new boys basketball coach at national power Montverde Academy, doesn't believe in taking the time.

"I remember the first game he won when he was here. He didn't let the kids go back into the locker room at halftime," said Joe Picaro, principal at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, N.J. "Instead, he and his assistant coaches went out on the court in their suit jackets and demonstrated what they wanted the kids to do.

"It was something to see."

That was during the 1988-89 season, Boyle's first at St. Patrick. Twenty-three seasons later, Boyle was chosen the Naismith National High School Coach of the Year in March following a 26-1 season and a No. 2 national ranking in USA Today.

Boyle, 48, replaces Kevin Sutton, who resigned two months ago after eight years at Montverde. Sutton led the Eagles to a 22-4 record last season and No. 15 ranking by USA Today. In 2007, Montverde was HoopsUSA.com national champions.

The Eagles' standards have been high. So are Boyle's.

"In three of the last five years [at St. Patrick], we have had a chance to win a national championship,'' Boyle said. "I would be disappointed if we didn't take it to that level, if not a level higher [at Montverde]."

Boyle grew up a gym rat in New Jersey. His father, Neil, was a basketball coach in the Catholic Youth Organization. Boyle was recruited as a guard to Seton Hall by Bill Raftery, then the Pirates' coach and now a college basketball television analyst.

"When I was growing up, I was in the gym for over 10 hours a day during the summertime," Boyle said. "Basketball has been my passion. I love playing it, I love teaching it and I love coaching it."

During his college career — one that began with the Pirates and ended at Saint Peter's College in New Jersey — Boyle played for four coaches, including current Toronto Raptors assistant P.J. Carlesimo.

"Kevin has been an institution in high school basketball," Carlesimo said. "There is no question about Kevin's qualifications. You are talking about him running one of the elite high school programs in the country at St. Patrick."

For much of his career, Boyle locked up with legendary high school coach Bob Hurley at rival St. Anthony in Jersey City, N.J. The Celtics' only loss last season came to St. Anthony in the state final that decided USA Today's national title.

"I'm not going to miss him being there at all," Hurley said. "He did an unbelievable job of taking a small school with limited resources and building it up into a national powerhouse."

Said Derrick Gordon, a senior shooting guard at St. Patrick who signed with Western Kentucky: "He's a great coach who really pushes you. He wants to make you better. He likes to coach winners. He still gets out on the court and teaches you things about how to play defense. He does a lot of things other coaches don't do."

Montverde's Landry Nnoko, a 6-foot-11 center who will be a senior next season, hopes Boyle has the same impact on him.

"I am impressed with his ability to develop players for college and the professional level, like Kyrie Irving [projected to be the top pick in the June NBA draft]," said Nnoko, one of 6-8 players expected to return in 2011-12. "I have a lot of confidence in his ability."

Said Montverde headmaster Kasey Kesselring: "One of our objectives when we began the interviewing process was to find someone with a proven track record to bring an equal, if not better, credibility to what we did have. To be able to get someone of Kevin's caliber, who has been named the national coach of the year by ESPN, USA Today and to win the Naismith award basically brings a lot of credibility to our program."

Boyle, whose 15-year-old son, Brendan, is expected to play for Montverde, appears to do that.

"I look at this as a great opportunity,'' he said. "I would be disappointed in myself and my staff if we didn't have a shot at winning a national title."

jrwilliams@tribune.com or 352-742-5921. Read Joe Williams' blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/varsityblog. Sign up for the Varsity sports newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.